1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to the field of software auditing within data processing systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As computer networks within companies and organisations become more extensive and more complex, there is a considerable growth in the number of software programs that are installed and used on the computer systems. In order to increase the reliability and efficiency of computer systems, it is often significant to have a clear understanding and control of what computer programs are being used. As an example, different users employing different versions of a program may cause compatibility problems. There may also be problems due to people installing unauthorised, or illegally copied, computer programs on their computer systems.
It is known to provide software auditing tools that can provide audit data either locally or back to a central network manager regarding the computer programs installed and used on a computer system. While these systems are useful in addressing the above mentioned problems, they have the disadvantage of themselves representing an additional computer program that must be installed and maintained within the computer systems as well as consuming potentially significant processing resources of the computer systems concerned.